SPI English · Fill in the Blanks
Tenses
A tense gap is filled from the clues around it: a time word, the tense of the rest of the story, or the order in which two actions happened.
Why this matters
Six questions in the bank, all from LWS mocks: two EASY, three MODERATE and one HARD. Four of them have two blanks, and the two verbs must fit each other as well as the time.
Concept 1 of 2: One blank: match the time clue
Definition
Where the clue comes from:
- A time word: yesterday, last year, ago (simple past); now, at the moment (present continuous); every day, always (simple present); tomorrow, next week (future with will).
- The rest of the passage: if the story says 'became' and 'was', the next verb is in the past too.
- The subject: a singular subject needs the singular form (was, has, goes).
- Strike out options that cannot be verbs on their own: 'beginning' or 'going' with no helper cannot fill the gap.
| Clue | Tense | Correct example |
|---|---|---|
| yesterday, last year, ago | simple past | We played football last Sunday. |
| a story told in the past | simple past | The sky grew dark, and the wind started to blow. |
| now, at the moment | present continuous | She is cooking now. |
| every day, always, usually | simple present | He reads the paper every day. |
| tomorrow, next week | future with will | They will arrive tomorrow. |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a practice question:
Example 1 · Fill in the Blanks · Tenses
A past story keeps its verbs in the past
Were is plural
Concept 2 of 2: Two blanks: the order of the two actions
Definition
The rules:
- Two past actions: the earlier one takes had + third form; the later one takes the simple past. 'When we arrived, the show had begun.'
- By the time + simple past, then had + third form for what was already complete.
- A present main verb (says, hopes, fears) can be followed by will for a future idea: 'He hopes that he will win.'
- A past main verb (said, hoped, feared) is followed by would: 'He hoped that he would win.'
- An action going on for some time before a past point takes had been + -ing: 'She had been waiting for an hour when the bus came.'
Worked example
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a practice question:
Example 2 · Fill in the Blanks · Tenses
Have and had do not mix in one past story
Will after a present verb, would after a past one
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (1)
One blank: match the time clue5 rows
| Clue | Tense | Correct example |
|---|---|---|
| yesterday, last year, ago | simple past | We played football last Sunday. |
| a story told in the past | simple past | The sky grew dark, and the wind started to blow. |
| now, at the moment | present continuous | She is cooking now. |
| every day, always, usually | simple present | He reads the paper every day. |
| tomorrow, next week | future with will | They will arrive tomorrow. |
Watch out for (4)
- A past story keeps its verbs in the past→ One blank: match the time clue
- Were is plural→ One blank: match the time clue
- Have and had do not mix in one past story→ Two blanks: the order of the two actions
- Will after a present verb, would after a past one→ Two blanks: the order of the two actions
Test yourself on a real paper
Sit a past SPI paper, timed and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.